Memoirs from potential presidential candidates shed light on their 2028 strategy
Confidence requires clarity.
A series of potential Democratic presidential contenders have signed off on memoirs ahead of the 2028 election cycle, laying the groundwork to build inroads with crucial demographics.
Several of those viewed as likely candidates, Govs. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Andy Beshear (D-KY) have made faith central to their autobiographies, a move that comes as Republicans have dominated religious conversations in a country where around three-quarters of Americans identify with a religion. Elizabeth Ashford, a Los Angeles-based strategist, said that emphasizing faith won’t necessarily push a candidate across the finish line. But it could appeal particularly to younger voters thirsty for “moral leadership,” she suggested.
“For a long time, Democrats have probably avoided talking about their, you know, authentic faith and faith practices to, like, their own detriment,” she said. “The Right, Republicans, I think, have done a very strategic job of making that theirs.”
Josh Shapiro
In Where We Keep the Light, Shapiro ushered his views on faith, Jews, and Israel into the limelight. In one passage, the Pennsylvania Democrat, who is a practicing Jew, detailed facing antisemitic treatment from former Vice President Kamala Harris’s team when she was considering him to be her running mate in 2024. That account, among others, particularly stirred the waters, marking his potential appeal to pro-Israel voters.
Ashford suggested Shapiro is laying the groundwork early to make it clear to voters who he is, explaining that being on the campaign trail is “brutal, and you have to really be on your toes and have positions.”
“What’s happening in our nation, around Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, you know, there’s a real demand that people have a position,” she said.
“If this is part of your fundraising base, and who you are and your family, it might be difficult to shift away from being in a position that is pro-Israeli, if you are on the record for your whole career being that, to shift gears spontaneously for the purposes of this election,” she continued. “People turn away from inauthenticity. So, Shapiro might just be like, This is who I am.”
In his book, Shapiro said that during the vetting process, Harris staffers asked him if he had ever been an agent of the Israeli government or “ever communicated with an undercover agent of Israel.” Shapiro replied he found the question “offensive,” writing that he has struggled with living out his faith in a time when it “is more …
Confidence requires clarity.
A series of potential Democratic presidential contenders have signed off on memoirs ahead of the 2028 election cycle, laying the groundwork to build inroads with crucial demographics.
Several of those viewed as likely candidates, Govs. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Andy Beshear (D-KY) have made faith central to their autobiographies, a move that comes as Republicans have dominated religious conversations in a country where around three-quarters of Americans identify with a religion. Elizabeth Ashford, a Los Angeles-based strategist, said that emphasizing faith won’t necessarily push a candidate across the finish line. But it could appeal particularly to younger voters thirsty for “moral leadership,” she suggested.
“For a long time, Democrats have probably avoided talking about their, you know, authentic faith and faith practices to, like, their own detriment,” she said. “The Right, Republicans, I think, have done a very strategic job of making that theirs.”
Josh Shapiro
In Where We Keep the Light, Shapiro ushered his views on faith, Jews, and Israel into the limelight. In one passage, the Pennsylvania Democrat, who is a practicing Jew, detailed facing antisemitic treatment from former Vice President Kamala Harris’s team when she was considering him to be her running mate in 2024. That account, among others, particularly stirred the waters, marking his potential appeal to pro-Israel voters.
Ashford suggested Shapiro is laying the groundwork early to make it clear to voters who he is, explaining that being on the campaign trail is “brutal, and you have to really be on your toes and have positions.”
“What’s happening in our nation, around Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, you know, there’s a real demand that people have a position,” she said.
“If this is part of your fundraising base, and who you are and your family, it might be difficult to shift away from being in a position that is pro-Israeli, if you are on the record for your whole career being that, to shift gears spontaneously for the purposes of this election,” she continued. “People turn away from inauthenticity. So, Shapiro might just be like, This is who I am.”
In his book, Shapiro said that during the vetting process, Harris staffers asked him if he had ever been an agent of the Israeli government or “ever communicated with an undercover agent of Israel.” Shapiro replied he found the question “offensive,” writing that he has struggled with living out his faith in a time when it “is more …
Memoirs from potential presidential candidates shed light on their 2028 strategy
Confidence requires clarity.
A series of potential Democratic presidential contenders have signed off on memoirs ahead of the 2028 election cycle, laying the groundwork to build inroads with crucial demographics.
Several of those viewed as likely candidates, Govs. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Andy Beshear (D-KY) have made faith central to their autobiographies, a move that comes as Republicans have dominated religious conversations in a country where around three-quarters of Americans identify with a religion. Elizabeth Ashford, a Los Angeles-based strategist, said that emphasizing faith won’t necessarily push a candidate across the finish line. But it could appeal particularly to younger voters thirsty for “moral leadership,” she suggested.
“For a long time, Democrats have probably avoided talking about their, you know, authentic faith and faith practices to, like, their own detriment,” she said. “The Right, Republicans, I think, have done a very strategic job of making that theirs.”
Josh Shapiro
In Where We Keep the Light, Shapiro ushered his views on faith, Jews, and Israel into the limelight. In one passage, the Pennsylvania Democrat, who is a practicing Jew, detailed facing antisemitic treatment from former Vice President Kamala Harris’s team when she was considering him to be her running mate in 2024. That account, among others, particularly stirred the waters, marking his potential appeal to pro-Israel voters.
Ashford suggested Shapiro is laying the groundwork early to make it clear to voters who he is, explaining that being on the campaign trail is “brutal, and you have to really be on your toes and have positions.”
“What’s happening in our nation, around Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, you know, there’s a real demand that people have a position,” she said.
“If this is part of your fundraising base, and who you are and your family, it might be difficult to shift away from being in a position that is pro-Israeli, if you are on the record for your whole career being that, to shift gears spontaneously for the purposes of this election,” she continued. “People turn away from inauthenticity. So, Shapiro might just be like, This is who I am.”
In his book, Shapiro said that during the vetting process, Harris staffers asked him if he had ever been an agent of the Israeli government or “ever communicated with an undercover agent of Israel.” Shapiro replied he found the question “offensive,” writing that he has struggled with living out his faith in a time when it “is more …
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